Quotable Country – 01/15/12 Edition

January 15, 2012 by C.M. Wilcox

Click the bullet after each quote to visit the source.

Keith [Urban] had called me a couple times when the record first came out and said, ‘Man, this is hands down song of the year.’ He’ll even text me and say, ‘I’m listening to the song.’ ●– – Ronnie Dunn. If you’re in love with “Cost of Livin,” you are not alone.

All of Tim McGraw’s fans — and there are millions of them — will be pleased to know that his Emotional Traffic album will finally be released by Curb Records on Jan. 24. ●– – Hazel Smith has somehow managed to not hear about the fact that album is only being released now to spite McGraw (and milk a few more dollars out of him) as he leaves Curb.

I used to resist a lot of that, but I’m trying to open my mind more about it, and I’m getting better about meeting them somewhere in the middle. But I’m not giving up my boots or Wranglers. People have asked me to put on a pair of slacks, khakis, or dress pants, and it’s not going to happen.– – Blake Shelton, in Redbook, on listening to image consultants.

You certainly don’t hear any country music on pop radio today. ●– – Say what, Jimmy Webb?

… if she told them all to go to the bathroom, they’d all go to the bathroom. If she told them all to go buy popcorn, they’d go buy popcorn. I’ve obviously not gotten to that point in my career where I can affect that many people. It’s been a long time since this guy’s played and I was 16 or 17 years old the last time I went and saw him, but the only person I’ve seen even remotely close to it is Garth [Brooks]. To have that many people almost in a trance. Fixated on her. Her work ethic and how much control she has over every tiny little detail definitely humbles you and makes you feel like you’re pretty worthless. ●– – David Nail on Taylor Swift’s command of her fanbase.

I’m no trained actor. I’m not Phillip Seymour Hoffman or Johnny Depp. I’m probably not going to play a gay hairdresser, but if there is a character I think I can associate and identify with I’ll try to do it. ●– – Trace Adkins on film roles. I think he owes it to himself to at least try the gay hairdresser thing.

I think that song is amazing because it has 16 lines and every fourth line ends with “the Streets of Baltimore,” so you have to rhyme everything with that. He gets the people from Tennessee all the way to Baltimore and all the way back, and everything happens in these 16 lines. It’s massive, the story, and it’s so fast and so streamlined. ●– – Richard Julian (The Little Willies) fully endorses “The Streets of Baltimore.” It’s a good ‘un.

These guys are like girls to me and I’m like a guy to them. ●– – Norah Jones, colorfully, on being the only girl in the band.

There are a lot of my peers that aren’t as country as I am, and there’s a lot of my peers influenced by other kinds of music. For me, I just grew up on country music, and that’s all I’m influenced by. I’ve been trying to listen to some other random stuff. Random that’s not Merle Haggard. It’s not anything in depth. It’s just a mixture of stuff. ●– – Sunny Sweeney is all country, but trying to expand her palette.

I belong in a smaller room. My time touring with Faith was amazing, and I wouldn’t have wanted to miss a minute of it. They made us part of the family and part of the show and the audiences were incredible to me. But it’s hard to reach 15,000 people with what I do. I need to take it 200 at a time. I’d rather have everyone feel like we’re in some living room somewhere. ●– – Lori McKenna feels more at home in intimate venues.

I had no idea it would be that popular. I think I underestimated the power of country music. ●– – Show director of “Always… Patsy Cline,” a surprise hit for the Spartanburg (South Carolina) Little Theatre in 2011. They’re doing “Honky Tonk Angels” in 2012.

He just finished recording a new album around Thanksgiving that’s a bit of a departure from his usual acoustic-based, folk-flavored music. This collection uses a full band, including a Hammond B-3 organ, fiddle, drums and bass with Todd playing the electric guitar doing leads and rhythm. The album, Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables, comes out soon and contains a bunch of new songs for the world to ponder. ●– – A few details on the next Todd Snider album.

We are writing the whole record from start to finish on our own, so that’s going to be different. There definitely still are the country music influences because that’s such a part of who we are. But some songs are more bluesy, some songs are very dark. There are a few gospel, tent-revival kind of songs. It’s going to be a really interesting sound. ●– – And the next Secret Sisters album, too. Glad it’ll be all originals this time.

I’ve been doing this a long time. If I didn’t know what I was doing by now, it’d be a problem. ●– – Merle Haggard takes compliments lightly.

At country music events, everyone’s so nice. But at pop events, everybody’s too cool for school. Nobody ever talks. I like the acts musically, but I don’t know anyone, which is weird ’cause I’ve been doing this for 10 years. ●– – Kelly Clarkson on the difference between the country and pop worlds.

Nashville gets a reputation for being glossy country music, the top songs on radio — that’s what people think is Nashville. The amazing musicians and songwriters I know in Nashville are nothing like that. It’s a great landing ground, a great source of artistry, and it has nothing to do with that glossy thing. Some of my greatest friends and musicians make their own records and make art there. It’s a great town. ●– – Shelby Lynne doesn’t have any beef with Nashville.

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Comments

Kelly Clarkson says “Nobody ever talks” in the pop world. Well, I’m glad they talk in the country world, Otherwise we wouldn’t have “Quotable Country.”

Oh, and Trace Adkins might make a good hairdresser. Hell, I saw the video for “Brown Chicken Brown Cow.” If he’s willing to sing a song about voyeuristic farm animals I bet he could take on just about any role.

Also: I don’t care if Blake Shelton wears MC Hammer pants, khackis, slacks, jeans or whatever. Just so long as he is wearing some kind of pants.

So the Secret Sisters have been writing songs with their pal Brandi Carlile huh? That gets me about as interested in their new album as if Sunny Sweeney were writing with Brantley Gilbert! Crikey! So they’ve also been out touring with Ray LaMontagne, k.d. lang, Elvis Costello and Paul Simon as well. So what exactly does any of that have to do with country music? Oh well, what I really hope is that their new album actually sounds decent production wise unlike their dull and lackluster debut. These gals are okay but they aren’t near as good as all of the media hype heaped on them by the music press due to T-Bonehead and his high profile pals. Its too bad they aren’t on a label like Rounder instead…

Thanks for the Sunny Sweeney article link. Sunny always makes an entertaining read. Sunny is coming to the next Stagecoach Festival, but as much as I like her $ 150 is a bit much for an admission ticket, even with Elizabeth Cook coming as well. I wish they would take the “Hardly, Strictly Bluegrass Festival” pricing approach instead! (lol)

So Todd Snider’s next album is titled “Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables” huh? I appreciated his honesty this go round, unlike on “The Obamavoter Plan”. I would never buy this album as the title just screams out its song for hippie liberals. Ugh!

Somehow when I look at Norah Jones on the cover of the new Little Willies album I don’t see how the guys in the band could possibly treat her as a guy! Sheesh!